Mart rings buzzing as record cattle prices keep floor under factories

Mart managers from all corners of the country are hailing the cattle trade as the liveliest in living memory, with reports indicating that high prices have not put a dampener on farmer, factory or feedlot demand.

The buoyant trade has seen some farmers opting for lighter, younger or plainer cattle than they would typically have sought for grazing as a means of keeping their mart bills manageable.

Some farmers who would have just bought weanlings or stores have switched to rearing calves in a move marts have said helped dairy farmers keep calves moving off-farm at peak calving.

Cattle prices have never been as high, according to the manager of the mid-Tipperary Mart in Thurles Martin Ryan.

“There is a huge mix of buyers, from farmers, to exporters and contract feeders. All groups of buyers are active at the moment,” Ryan told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“One thing we are seeing is that a certain number of farmers are changing the type of cattle they are getting in, but this is less common maybe with the farmers not fully reliant on cattle for their income if they are part-time or semi-retired.

“Some of the farmers who would have been looking for two-year-old continentals might be looking towards two-year-old Herefords or Friesians.

“More who would have been buying two-year-old Hereford or Angus cattle might be looking to yearlings and some of those who would have been in the market for yearlings have moved onto calves.

“There is good demand for calves.

“Farmers have confidence that they can sell a calf for €1,000 more than they paid for it in a year if they are reared well and we are seeing better calves coming to the marts.”

Mart manager Neilus McAuliffe singled out Castleisland Mart’s St Patrick’s Day calf sale as a particularly clear signal of the strength of the calf trade, driven by high cattle price confidence.

While factories remain focused on securing heavy cattle, the buyer who would have typically been on the lookout for an under one-year finish is buying yearlings, the usual yearling buyer in the market for weanlings and some regular weanling buyers opting to rear calves, McAuliffe observed.

“Friesian calves that would have went for €20 to €50 last year are making €200 to €250, Hereford or Angus that were €200 to €300 are making €500 in a ring jammed with buyers.

“It’s unprecedented what’s going on, cattle are getting dearer by the day. The numbers have held up too. We are seeing sales up 300 or 400 head in cattle numbers over last year and the farmer buyers are still well-able to compete around the ring. It’s unreal.

“Farmers have for too long sold cattle below par, it’s about time they get paid good prices and these prices stay the new norm.”

Eimear McGuinness, manager of Donegal Mart, expressed hope that the buoyant trade will keep up and reward the finishers currently paying big money around the ring.

However, McGuinness also noted that the until-recently rocketing sheep trade has come back, despite expectations that Ramadan would bring a further boost.

“The trade is fantastic and long may it last, but there is some worry about buyers looking to replace the stock they sold and facing a risk in doing it with the current prices. It is great to see though and it is all needed with costs where they are,” the manager stated.

“The lower number of calf births recorded gives some confidence in the price of beef staying high.”

“The farmer customer base is still looking for quality weanlings, as are the exporters and midland buyers we have. The heifer men are still looking for heifers and still looking for the same quality cattle.”

“Marts are seeing an insatiable demand for beef and forward cattle, positively lifting factory beef prices through competition,” according to the manager of Carnew Marts David Quinn.

“This is the highest the trade has ever been even taking inflation and everything else into account. I started selling in 1988-89 and there was a boom then but we are well-ahead of those levels now,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal. “There is definitely confidence but nearly every second person is saying ‘will there be a crash’. It’s in the back of people’s minds, especially those looking for 300kg or 400kg type cattle that won’t be finished until this time next year, but there is always a risk or a gamble with these cattle.”

The beef price drive over recent months has instilled a new confidence among suckler farmers that there will be a more viable in calving cows down, stated Teresa Gibsey of Aurivo’s mart in Ballinrobe.

“There are some farmers now wondering ‘why did I get out of cows’ and more who might have been thinking about getting out of sucklers holding onto cows now,” she said.

“I heard one farmer saying this week ‘the price of cattle is going up by the hour, it’s not just by the week anymore’.

“Many farmers who were waiting for prices to fall before buying grass cattle are around the ring now and buyers are looking for a bit of everything – lighter cattle, heavier cattle, weanlings.”